Summit County Opioid Healing Fund awards more than $350K in grants
Akron Community Foundation's board of directors recently approved 31 grants totaling $358,500 to nonprofit organizations supporting Summit County residents directly impacted by the opioid epidemic. This is the fifth round of grants from the Summit County Opioid Healing Fund, which was established in 2021 by the Opiate Abatement Advisory Council using settlement funds from Summit County's federal opioid trial. A total of nearly $1.6 million has been awarded so far.
"The opioid epidemic has touched far too many lives in our community, and the Summit County Opioid Healing Fund is a unique and powerful way we are working together to bring healing and hope. We are grateful for Akron Community Foundation's continued partnership in this intentional mission of directing Summit County's opioid abatement funds to meet folks where they are," said Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro. "These grants provide critical support to the grassroots organizations that stand beside our residents every day as they navigate recovery and rebuild their lives."
Grants through this program are awarded primarily to organizations not currently being funded by the Summit County ADM Board, and for programs that offer peer support services, recovery-oriented services, and community-based recovery events.
The Welcome to Recovery Project was awarded a $10,000 grant to create Welcome Bags for individuals entering a treatment facility, providing them with a sense of comfort.
"These bags are filled with the basic hygiene supplies to help someone get through the first few days, along with other essential items," said Founder Nadine Kirkland. "However, the most important item in the bag is the handwritten card of encouragement included in every one. We have been fortunate enough to meet some of the people who have received these cards, and many have told us that those kind words really helped them get through those first really difficult days."
The following grants were approved during this round:
Adult Guardianship Services, for a recovery-focused pilot program that provides professional guardianship and stabilization support for adults impacted by opioid use disorder, $5,000
ARC Recovery Services, to support three cornerstone recovery events that promote healing, connection, and hope for individuals and families impacted by opioid addiction in Summit County, $15,000
Asian Services in Action Inc., to address opioid use within Summit County's immigrant and refugee population with prevention education and community intervention and outreach, with a particular focus on Afghan and Bhutanese Nepali communities, $25,000
Broken Chains Jail & Prison Ministry, to support Lydia's Home and its Access to Recovery Program, offering services like transportation, restoration of identity documents, and health care for a peer recovery supported, residential program for women in Summit County, $10,000
Carve Your Own Path, to provide trauma-informed prevention training for Summit County's abatement workforce to help providers address the root causes of substance use disorder, $15,000
CASA Board Volunteer Association, to provide an opioid education and prevention training series to strengthen the ability of CASA volunteers and staff to support children and families affected by opioid use, child abuse and neglect, $6,000
Compass North Church, for the program, A Walk in Their Shoes, which helps individuals and families affected by opioid addiction, suicide loss, and sex trafficking through victory stories from survivors, education, and direct access to treatment programs, counseling, peer support, housing assistance, and life-skills services, $2,500
Freedom House for Women Inc., for the Courage to Change program, a trauma‑informed service designed to provide comprehensive treatment and supportive services for women ages 18 and older with a history and diagnosis of opiate use disorder, $15,000
Friends in Tents, to expand street-based harm reduction outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use in Summit County, $5,000
Friends of 91.3 dba Friends of The Summit, to support the Music & Movement program, a trauma-informed wellness workshop series that combines live music with evidence-based practices, $10,000
Hope Meadows Foundation, to support an equine-assisted addiction recovery and relapse prevention mental health services program, $10,000
Hope United, for an innovative virtual reality recovery support program, which will serve 21 people in Summit County recovering from opioid use disorder, $20,000
International Institute of Akron Inc., for a substance-use prevention and education initiative for Summit County's refugee and immigrant communities, $25,000
JoAnna House II Inc., to help marginalized adult women in and through early recovery from substance use and mental health disorders, $5,000
Keys to Serenity, for the Children & Family Program, which provides support, assistance and events for families impacted by parental addiction, $25,000
Legacy III, Inc., for the Pathways to Freedom program, which provides recovery-oriented transitional housing for women who are homeless in Summit County with a history of substance use and mental health disorders, $10,000
Ohio Can Change Addiction Now, for Gifts of Love, which provides a way for parents in recovery to provide Christmas gifts for their children, $5,000
Project Ujima, for Voices of Recovery: Peace Circles, a five-week, trauma-informed initiative that supports Summit County residents, particularly minority and intergenerational adults ages 18-plus, impacted by the opioid crisis, $25,000
relink.org, to improve access to and awareness of addiction recovery resources in Summit County through the creation and distribution of a comprehensive, easy-to-use Summit County Recovery Resource Directory, $10,000
Restore Addiction Recovery, for weekly individual trauma-informed counseling for men who are enrolled in the organization's year-long residential program, $5,000
Rise and Recover, for supportive, structured sober housing for women transitioning from substance use disorder treatment, $5,000
Sarah's House Inc., for the Never 2 Old 2 program, which educates older adults about abuse and misuse of opioids, presenting alternative management for pain and discomfort, $5,000
Second Chance Village, to support peer certification, transportation expansion, and integration of Mental Martial Arts, a cognitive-behavioral recovery tool designed by and for survivors, $5,000
South Street Ministries, for operations of Restoration House, a women's drop-in center that offers case management assistance, along with programs to address mental health and substance use disorder, among other offerings, $25,000
Students With A Goal: SWAG, for the SWAG Healing Pathways program, a trauma-informed prevention and recovery initiative serving youth and adults that addresses the impact of the opioid epidemic through education, emotional regulation skills, healthy relationship training, peer support, family healing workshops, and pathways to treatment, $5,000
Summit County Continuum of Care, for Stable Steps, a recovery and reentry housing initiative to prevent homelessness, $5,000
Summit Recovery Hub, to support Summit County Recovery Dinners, which are peer-led, community-based recovery events, $25,000
Truly Reaching You, to strengthen recovery-centered reentry services for Summit County men returning from incarceration while navigating substance use disorder, $10,000
Truth & Honor, to support recovery housing for veterans, which includes case management, drug and alcohol relapse prevention, and peer recovery and life skills training, among other resources, $5,000
Welcome To Recovery Project, to help people in recovery through Welcome Bags, which offer hygiene, dignity and comfort to individuals who enter a treatment facility, $10,000
Women Revived Ministries, for Total Life Wellness In Recovery, which offers workshops, classes, and individual mentoring and peer support for people in recovery, $10,000
About Akron Community Foundation
For 70 years, Akron Community Foundation has been our community's champion and generator of enduring philanthropy. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of $350 million with a growing family of nearly 930 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation's funds have awarded $271 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit akroncf.org.